I've watched QHs who lived in a field for the first 7 years of their lives try to throw themselves through a wall and then a solid glass observation window to avoid learning how to lunge. I've watched paints use their size and charge straight at their owner because they didn't want to come in from the field. I've seen draft crosses that have run through a metal swinging gate to get in the barn at dinner time and do fairly serious damage to themselves. I don't base judgement on an entire breed based on these experiences. I know that there are basic characteristics and that those typically vary wildly by individual and by breeding lines to a point.

High-spirited, yes. Spooky, not usually. Intuitive, smart, curious, and observant, yes. My green horse will startle, but he almost immediately gets over it and then wants to investigate. The first horse I leased was an arabian who would "spook" at random and take off across the arena. Ha! He was smart enough to figure out how to unnerve/prematurely dismount his rider so he could be done with the lesson and go back in his stall. They always figure out a way to get into mischief on their own if their minds aren't being stimulated to their satisfaction. Ime, they are only genuinely "spooky" less than 5% of the time - maybe even less than that. The other 95% of the "spooky" horses are having fun and their rider is not necessarily at a point in their riding where they can deter the behavior and deal with the situation appropriately.Posted via Mobile Device

Completely agreed! I found that they see a lot more and faster than any other horse, but once they figure out what it is, they're just fine. I had a huge combine passing my paddock the warmblood, TB and the Hafi went to the opposite end, all(9) Arabs went straight towards it to check it out. My current Arab is nicknamed "cop". He notices everything, strange cars coming up the driveway, escaped cows, a dog who doesn't belong here. I learned yo look where he's looking to stay informed

The biggest difference in Arabs is the ride. I have Arabs and QHs and the Arab is light, drives off his rear end and is super responsive and agile. The QH is on his forehand, heavy and can be bone jarring at his gaits. I call one the Maserati and the other a Yugo with busted springs. They're both sweet, fun to ride and enjoyable to be around. One, I watch constantly because he's so darn smart you never know what he'll get into next. The other, I watch constantly because he's so slow to react but when he does, it's HUGE. I think that might be where the Arab gets the "spooky" tag. The Arab is hyper vigilant (think war horse) and is always looking around and ready to react and will react to anything, but usually in a fairly small way. The QH goes along to get along and doesn't react to everything but when he does, he really blows up big. The Arab does a quick startle and stop, the QH spooks sideways, bucks (nothing big or unrideable) and then settles back down to super quiet so it's more noticeable when he blows up. The Arab is always kind of "UP".

Sometimes I forget how "odd" my horse must seem to a lot of people at the barn with very limited exposure to hot-blooded breeds until something happens that reminds me.

On Tuesday I was at the been and there was an incident with a guy lunging his excitable paint. The paint reared, slipped on landing, and somehow managed tangled up in a swinging gate at the far end of the arena. My horse saw the commotion, swung around to face the action, and stopped immediately with ears forward and sniffing the air. A friend was also riding her QH and he just kept ambling along until she stopped him to get off. He didn't have any reaction at all and my horse was trying to sense anything he could from the opposite end of the arena. He was completely aware, but not jumpy or spooky in the slightest. We took our horses out of the arena and put them in their stalls to help the other horse. My friend was trying unsuccessfully to rush her horse out to get back faster. My guy was attuned to the change in my emotions and was acting very concerned and kept looking back at the other horse (his pasture mate - my friends horse was a former pasture mate). I got him to his stall and he couldn't see the paint and he called to him and continued looking in that direction with ears forward, sniffing the air. When the paint was brought past him to go back to his stall afterwards, he knickered at the paint and the paint knickered back.

Arabs, yay or nay? It depends on many factors: primarily, what are you looking for? And, what is available to you? Regardless of breed (unless you HAVE to have an Arab), if the horse's training, conformation and behavior are what you are seeking, then go for it!

I'm spoiled to Arabian fitness and joy for hard work. People are starting to get back into riding and their horses are huffing and puffing after 20 minutes...an hour later my horse hasn't even broken a sweat.Posted via Mobile Device

It is just common sense to use a horse with conformation suited to the style of riding you wish to persue, regardless of breed. You dont take a long legged 16 17 h horse and try to do cutting. you also dont take the 14 h stocky bulldog horse and try to jump 5 ft fences. People are predujiced against breeds in horses just as they are in dogs. I dont go for a breed, i go for a type..

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

OR

Log-in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.